Spare Spoons Kitchen
Pepperkaker
Traditional Norwegian ginger cookies — crisp, deeply spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and a whisper of black pepper. "Pepperkake" means pepper cake, and the pepper is not optional. Roll them thin for proper snap. The dough chills overnight, keeps a week in the fridge, and the baked cookies last three weeks in a tin.
Ingredients
Easier, if you like
- Lyle's Golden Syrup (Whole Foods, World Market, Target international aisle, ~$4–5) is actually the traditional ingredient — closer to the Norwegian original than corn syrup. If you can find it, use it.
- Any holiday cookie cutter set — Ateco or Wilton sets (Target, kitchen stores, Amazon, ~$8–12) — works. Hearts, stars, and trees are traditional. Any shape you like is fine.
- The dough keeps 1 week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer — make it ahead and bake in batches when you have energy.
Method
Cook's notes
Thin is the whole game. Pepperkaker should be crisp, not chewy. 2 mm (about ⅛ inch) is right. If yours are coming out too chewy, roll them thinner next time.
They firm up as they cool. Pull them when the edges are just barely golden and the centers still look slightly soft. They'll crisp completely on the pan as they cool. Overbaked pepperkaker are bitter.
The dough is workable when cold. Scraps can be re-rolled. Keep the dough you're not working with in the fridge — it softens fast at room temperature and becomes sticky.
Three weeks in a tin. These are one of the longest-keeping cookies you can make. Pack them in an airtight tin with parchment between layers.
Traditional Norwegian shapes: hearts, stars, pigs, goats, and gingerbread people. The pig is especially traditional — it's considered good luck.
Vegetarian as written; syrup and GF swaps easy
Golden syrup (Lyle's) in place of dark corn syrup: this is actually the traditional ingredient. Use the same quantity. The cookies will be slightly lighter in color and more butterscotch-forward.
Light corn syrup: works fine; slightly less dark and molasses-forward than dark corn syrup.
Gluten-free: Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour works here, but the cookies will be more fragile when rolling — handle gently and re-roll scraps carefully.